The Wealth Killer

You didn’t go broke. Your lifestyle just got expensive.

It usually starts very small.

You get a raise. Maybe you upgrade your phone, order takeout more often, or finally lease that nicer car you’ve been eyeing. It could be even smaller, like buying a little extra at the grocery store.  Before you know it, the extra money you’re making has quietly vanished.  It didn’t vanish because of bad investments or big mistakes.  It vanished because your spending slowly rose to match your income.

This is what is called the lifestyle creep.  It’s the subtle shift that turns pay raises into “meh” moments for your bank account. It’s not about living lavishly overnight. It’s about the slow, almost invisible climb of your baseline expenses until saving feels impossible.  What was once not even an option has now seemingly become a necessity.

One of the most powerful ways to fight lifestyle creep is to lock in your baseline lifestyle.  Once it’s locked, you refuse to open or raise it just because your income does.

Think of it like this:

By locking in your baseline, you remove the mental “permission” to inflate your lifestyle every time your paycheck grows.

However, it’s not enough to lock in your baseline, there’s more to do to ensure you actually acquire that wealth.  You know how people sometimes say “if I had a dollar for every time…” insert whatever event after.  Locking in that baseline lifestyle, ensures you actually have that dollar for every time you didn’t deviate from that baseline.

Here’s the golden move: Every time your income goes up, you immediately decide where that extra money will go.  Make the decision before it ever hits your checking account.

Some examples:

The choices are endless. Just don’t spend it frivolously. The key (or trick) is to make the surplus invisible in your day-to-day budget so it’s impossible to “accidentally” spend it.

Wealth is built not just by making more money, but by keeping the gap between what you earn and what you spend as wide as possible. Lifestyle creep closes that gap. The “baseline lock” and surplus redirection keep it wide and increasing no matter how much your income grows.

Your future self will thank you. Your present self will barely notice.

We’re not saying you have to sacrifice all upgrades forever. Once again there’s some wisdom and discernment necessary.  If you make lifestyle changes intentionally and only after securing your financial goals, you’ll stay in control, instead of letting lifestyle creep silently drain your wealth.

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